Marin Hili has expansion plans in the Baltics, Albania and Scotland.

Marin Hili – synonymous with the success of the Malta Freeport in his time as chairman – has become one of the leading figures in the seaport maritime industry abroad.

Through a company bearing his name – Marin Hili Holdings – he now manages three container terminals abroad together with a professional team of staff based in Malta and the UK. His company is currently also eyeing the acquisition of a new terminal in the Baltic States and has already been chosen as the preferred terminal operator of a new sea terminal to be developed in Rosyth, Scotland.

“Our work over the years has served us well as through our performance and work ethic we have developed a very credible name in the maritime industry. Today, Mariner, the company which operates all these terminals, is a recognised leader in the regions it operates,” Mr Hili told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Through its activities in Latvia, Venice and Albania, Mariner today has grown into a sound and financially strong company with a share capital of €37 million with a further €40 million invested in its Latvian holding company. The company is considering further investing inits terminals.

The Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Latvia’s capital Riga was the first terminal to be acquired and operated by the Maltese company.

Starting from almost zero traffic in 1996, the BCT today is the leading container terminal in the Baltic States and last year handled a record volume of containers and recorded the biggest throughput among all the other terminals in the region.

Conscious of the terminal’s excellent geographical position with a direct daily rail link to Moscow, Mariner currently has an investment programme of €20 million in the terminal to install new equipment and develop new storage warehouses while expanding the yard of the terminal, most of which has already been realised.

Venice – better known among Maltese for romantic weekend breaks – has a completely different meaning for Marin Hili’s employees.

Since 2003, Mariner has operated the Terminal Intermodale Venezia (TIV) – a fully-fledged container terminal in the port of Marghera.

The terminal has since gone from strength to strength and despite the ongoing economic crisis affecting Italy, the terminal last year handled a record volume of containers.

Mr Hili is looking forward to further expansion and Mariner’s plans are now firmly set on two already advanced projects in Albania and Scotland.

Although still in its initial stages of managing the terminal in Durres, Albania, Mr Hili believes that the Durres terminal has very good potential for growth due to its strategic location and good connections to serve Albania as well as its landlocked neighbours such as Kosovo.

Scotland is also in Mariner’s sights as following the approval of the Scottish Parliament, the Maltese company was selected as the preferred operator of the development of the Rosyth International Container Terminal (RICT).

Just a short distance away from Edinburgh, the new terminal will be based on the north bank of the river Forth with direct access to the North Sea.